Breaking Free
by StonewashedBlues
Summary: Cato has always known Clove, from the time they were young. He was not surprised to fall in love with her. But he was surprised when he got to the Hunger Games, for her to fall out of love with him.
1. Chapter 1

Breaking Free

By Blackkeys51

Chapter 1

~X~

I'm glad I came from District Two. Want to know why? Because I was certain to pulverize all those 23 weak teenagers who stood before me. It would come down to that bitch from Twelve and me. Someone else would finish off Clove. I couldn't do that…I wouldn't.

It makes me sick. She thinks she's all that, "The Girl on Fire." Granted, she isn't _that_ bad looking. And she's handy with a bow. She even got an 11 in Training. But she adopts this googly-eyed look for Lover Boy and I just want to tear them both apart. It is so completely obvious that they're faking it. At least to me it is. I can see past their lies.

I'm glad the team from Twelve noticed me eyeing Katniss after the Tribute Parade. I'm glad she noticed me in Training. That gave me enough edge to get Lover Boy on our side so we could hunt her down and make them both wish they hadn't been born.

I definitely wish I wasn't.

~X~

"Hey, Cato," someone says to me, taking a seat beside me in the Dining Hall. I ignore them, focusing on the pile of food in front of me. We have it good here, in Two. We are not starving like the people in the outside Districts. I don't notice who it is until their small fingers poke and prod at my right bicep until I am forced to look at whoever it is. "You've gotten stronger."

Clove is smiling at me. Petite, with cat-like features and reflexes to match, she is puny compared to my size, yet equally deadly. I suddenly feel sorry for ignoring her, and I smile back, appreciating her company.

"They've started focusing on my strength more than anything," I reply, "It's crucial to be physically strong for The Games if you can't find any other skill to suit you."

She begins eating, taking bird-size bites of steak and talking in between them. "Well then, I'm glad I'm handy with a knife."

"Come on, so am I."

"Yeah, as a short sword," she snickers, "Mine is a bullet out of my hand."

"I think I could take you," I shoot back. Really I'm just bluffing, and I know she'll bite at the bait, but I'm honestly afraid of her. She's much smaller than me, and much quicker.

"Wanna bet?"

~X~

We finally hunt down a suitable pair of blunt knives for each of us, and head out to the enclosed practice area behind the gym. No one else is out there, still finishing lunch, but both Clove and I find the mindless chatter mind-blowingly annoying.

"So here's the deal," she says, spinning around to face me, "Whoever is pinned on the ground for more than three seconds loses."

"What do I get when I win?"

"_If_ you win," she says, scoffing, "The winner gets the loser's desert for a month. The winner also gets the plain satisfaction of winning, and gets the use of the loser's knife in class for two weeks."

I groan. "Come on, you can't take my good knife."

"Then win." She stalks away, grinning, preparing herself. I shake my muscles, loosening them and warming them up, then I crouch down, lowering myself closer to the ground. Her cat eyes narrow, and for a second, everything is still.

She springs up into the air and lands in a roll, catching me by surprise long enough to slice the fabric of my shorts with her blunt. I recoil in shock and then come back at her, throwing blow after blow. I pin her knife with mine and then twist and throw hers aside, propelling it to the ground. I punch her in her side lightly and hear her gasp. Oops.

She grabs at my fists and knees me in my gut, making me drop the knife from my hands. I suddenly find myself in a headlock, being thrown to the ground and pinned by her body. She has more weight on her than I thought.

"1…2…3!" She gasps, then releases the pressure on my throat. I gasp for air, when I noticed she hasn't moved off me. I can feel her breathing hard, her head resting on my chest. She looks up at me, then kisses me gently on the lips.

"You owe me a month of ice cream…and your good knife."


	2. Chapter 2

Breaking Free

By Blackkeys51

Chapter 2

~X~

I have _totally_ let myself go. Not only have I relinquished all the feelings I harbored for Clove, but now I know _she_ feels them _too_. This is making me weak. I was already weak enough without this happening to me.

~X~

"Dad," I whispered, "What are you doing?"

"You should've never been born." I could smell his breath from where I lay in my bed to where he stood at the door. Liquor, hard liquor. He was over-the-hill drunk. "You were a mistake." I caught a glimpse of a sharp knife in his hand.

Fear shot through me. "Dad, please," I whimpered, "You don't know what you're talking about."

"No!" His fist slammed against my door, leaving a chip in the wood. "No, _son._ I know exactly what I'm talking about." He started advancing towards me, gripping the knife tighter with each step, raising it higher with each step.

I sank deeper under my covers. "No," I cried, "NO!"

I felt the knife pierce the mattress right where I had been lying. I tackled Dad to the ground, pinning him there. My lanky arms punched him time and time again, and before I could register what I was doing, I held the knife in my hand.

Mom rushed in, pulling me off him, yanking the knife out of my shaking hands. I only registered her pushing him out the front door and locking it behind him before I collapsed to the ground, shaking fervently with sobs.

I heard her light-footed steps, felt her arms wrap around me, pulling me in to her chest. This was what I needed, a mother's love, a mother's grasp to keep me together when my brain felt like it was coming out of my ears.

I swore after that night to never be deemed as weak. I swore to protect my mother. I swore to never let anything harm her, to never let anything harm the people I cared about…including Clove.

~X~

I bolt up from my pillow, shaken by the nightmare I have re-lived ever since my mom kicked my dad out. I slump over, holding my head in my hands, trying to push back the tears. Tears don't help everything. They help some things, yes, but they don't help everything.

I know whom I need now, more than ever: Clove.

I rouse silently from my bed, inching to the door and opening it as silently as I can. Hopefully my mom won't notice…

I move to the front door and poke my head out, making sure no one is there, roaming in the streets at night. Noticing that no one is there, I check behind me, and then I am out into the darkness.

The street lamps are the only lights that guide me as I am on my way, shivering slightly in the cold. Luckily, I have only a short distance to go, specifically three houses, until I am at Clove's front door. I make my way around the house until I am at her window. Her light blue curtains are drawn so that I can't see inside, so I pick up three small stones and hurl the first one at the window.

_Knack!_ No response…

I hurl the second stone. _Knack!_ Again, no response. I am about to hurl the third stone when the curtains open and the window slides up. She pokes her head out and smiles at me.

"Climb the tree," she whispers, nodding her head at an oak that has grown to where it lies just in front of her window. I warm up my hands and grasp at the low branches, and begin to climb. At one point, by foot slips from its hold, and I hear a small gasp. But I keep climbing, and eventually I reach her window, and I slide in, shutting it softly behind me.

I take her in my arms, pulling her close to me. She lets me hold her for a while there as I stroke her hair and wish that she was with me all the time.

"Another nightmare?" She questions. I nod, and I feel her arms tighten around me. I can feel the tears threatening to return, but I swallow down the knot in my throat and hold her closer to me.

"Will you…" I pause. Should I…no, I'll ask. "Will you kiss me again?"

It's when she presses her lips to mine that I fully realize how weak I am in her arms, in her hands. I actually kind of like it. What am I saying? I really like it.

I feel her hands, her cold, small hands slide up my body to wrap around my neck, and the kiss involuntarily deepens. I press her body against mine and I feel her writhing up against me. Something stirs deep inside my stomach when I feel her breasts pressing against my chest, and suddenly I am filled with such an urge that can't be calmed.

"Cato," she gasps in between kisses, "Cato, stop."

I pull away sharply, looking her deeply in the eyes. "What are you afraid of?"

"Nothing," she retorts, glaring at me. "I love you, you know that. I'm just afraid someone will hear."

"Wait, wait, wait…" I pause, gripping at the reality that just flew before me. "You love me?"

"Of course," she says, smiling.

"I love you too." I pick her up and she hooks her legs around my waist, and before we both know it, I am laying her down on the bed, with her peeling off my shirt in the process.

~X~

**Author's Note: Tiny bit of smut in this chapter…sorry. We will find out soon enough if they actually did IT or not, if they actually went through with it. Certainly Cato will come to realize the implications of what he and Clove have done together, but I want to build a relationship between them similar to that of Katniss and Peeta, where you don't know they love each other until she is screaming his name as Thresh attacks her. At least the Capitol won't know it anyways…except for the people in their apartment. Certainly more smut to come, fair warning. I can't help myself I just love this relationship. Thanks for reading! Review, please! I always accept constructive criticism!**


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